Microsoft are reportedly planning on integrating one of the latest AI tools, ChatGPT, with its own web search engine, Bing, to answer search queries. The version of Bing that uses ChatGPT is planned to launch by the end of March to compete against Google.
How could ChatGPT rival Google?
Both Bing and Google already display relevant information from links at the top of search queries, but up until now, Google has had more widely spread knowledge panels. The new ChatGPT functionality is designed to help Bing rival Google’s ‘Knowledge Graph’, which currently provides instant answers derived from crawlers and user feedback.
The SEO community mooted the possibility of Google’s AI ‘Lamda’ showing conversational search results alongside its existing results but it doesn’t necessarily get away from the conflict of Google ads being the search engine giant’s main income stream.
ChatGPT is already letting users create poems, compose essays, and write code, potentially shaving hours off work time. Based on GPT-3.5, a large language model released in 2022, ChatGPT is revolutionising the future of the web with its ability to generate answers and compose authentic-looking articles on topics.
How have Google responded?
Google has already responded to suggest it won’t immediately launch its own rival, citing bias and factuality issues with existing AI chatbots as its reason for not being ready to replace search at present. However, Google has used several large AI language models to subtly improve its search engines in the past.
Are there any flaws in ChatGPT?
Despite its current skills, the ChatGPT system still has many flaws, to include racial bias and the ability to present incorrect information as fact. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said, “it’s a mistake to be relying on [ChatGPT] for anything important right now.”
How can Microsoft make money from ChatGPT?
Microsoft has a strong relationship with OpenAI, with the tech giant investing $1 billion in the firm in 2019. Although ChatGPT is currently free to use for now, while it is still in it research phase, OpenAI’s CEO, Sam Altman, has already indicated that free usage will be “impossible to retain.”
If OpenAI systems such as Dall.E and Chat GPT continue to be successful, companies may choose them to draft articles or craft visual ads, at which point large licensing fees may be put in place.
At present, the privately-owned company are remaining quiet about their future business model, but given that ChatGPT attracted more than one million users in the first five days of use, explosive growth is expected in years to come.
Microsoft’s integration of ChatGPT to Bing – the view from Spike
The new OpenAI services, including the latest ChatGPT, have the potential to seriously shake things up for the future. Will artists, writers, teachers and programmers be put out of a job, given that people will be able to generate articles, complete homework assignments and programme scripts with little effort? With its existing flaws, we advise users to remain cautious, but we can’t help but wonder if articles such as this one, will be replaced with a more concise answer from ChatGPT in the future.
Microsoft haven’t revealed how they plan to integrate ChatGPT into Bing, but it is likely that the firm will perform beta tests and a limited amount of integration before it is released to the public domain.
Author spike.digital